Customer Reviews

Commandments [VHS]

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Commandments is an unfairly overlooked movie. It didn't get a lot of promotion, and took a long time to come out on video at a sell-through price.

True, the lighter moments don't always sit well alongside the heavier moments, but the movie still holds together fairly well, even managing to make a few points along the way.

More importantly, unlike a lot of other movies these days, Commandments emotionally engages the viewer; you actually care what happens to the main characters.

Finally, the cinematography is fabulous. The film's visual tone is arguably the central element that holds everything else together - but it does so without overwhelming everything else.

Neither light comedy nor heavy drama, Commandments is the kind of movie that will have you wondering why you didn't see it sooner.

Seth (Aidan Quinn) is in a bad way. His pregnant wife drowned a year ago, his house has been demolished in a tornado, and he's lost his job. "Why, God?" he asks. God responds with a carefully aimed lightning bolt which not only hits Seth, but also manages to maim his pet dog.

Homeless and jobless, Seth goes to stay with his late wife's sister, Rachel (Courteney Cox) and her no-good husband, Harry (Anthony LaPaglia). And Harry's collection of priceless guitars. We know that Harry is no good because the first time we see him, he's cheating on Rachel with gusto. Seth is lost and confused - why has God chosen to punish him, a good, loyal, hard-working religious man, rather than someone like, say, Harry? Not only is he confused, he's getting pretty angry. So he makes up his mind to break each of the Ten Commandments, one by one.

"Commandments" raises some interesting questions - very few of which it actually manages to answer. Most of the time, it doesn't even make an attempt at this. Rather than trying to figure out exactly *why* God is punishing Seth, it turns into a comedy as Seth wife-covets, ignores the Sabbath and blasphemes his way across the screen. More interesting than Seth is Harry, who is nasty in a refreshingly human way, while Courteney Cox as Rachel is lovely, but more than a little distant.

The characters and their dilemmas are somewhat inaccessible; we end up not caring about them as much as we should, I guess. A lot of the scenes seem illogical, and the cold blue sets do their part in cutting off the audience. However it's a lot more quirky and off-beat than most of the comedies in circulation at the moment. Keep an eye out for it.

But still good for the open-minded! I guess I should say you shouldn't see this movie unless you are a big fan of one of the cast members. The characters could have been developed better and the movie could have been longer (it is about an hour and a half). But still, it's a good movie to see if you like dark comedy, and I mean really, really dark. I myself liked it a lot; however, it is pretty strange and the ending could have been much, much better. Harry is a rather static character that you will probably hate, unless you love Anthony LaPaglia, and Sparky the dog is an added bonus. Rent this movie - you may regret it, but you probably won't.

I have been waiting for this movie to be released on dvd for years! Sad but not depressing -- and the ending is pitch-perfect.

I liked this movie a lot. I found it funny but always down to earth. It shows how despair and grief can change a person so that they are unrecognizable execpt to God. It also is life affirming in that the main character gets a second chance. All in all a great movie-one I have recommended to friends. It also has a great soundtrack.

An exquiste descent into the heart of despair challenged with the needful interpretation of life and God. It's funny, sad, but still manages to be hopeful. It's definately a story that will teach and inspire your soul to be patient, and your heart to dream ... even when life is at it's worst.

This is a retelling of the Job story from the Old Testament. And the genius of the film is that (even though the movie includes another biblical story to wind up Seth's story) it ends much like the book of Job; there is no answer to why all these things happen to humans, but still there is the overwhelming sense that you just have to know more about this God. I'm sure this film doesn't sit well with conservative Jews or Christians--too much sex. That's okay--not much sits well with conservative viewers. It is a nice counterpoint to the notion on our culture that if you love God, nothing bad will ever happen to you. Here, Seth perseveres in this relationship even though he is terribly angry with God.

Even if this movie didn't have Courteney Cox Arquette, it'd still be my favourite. I love the movie so much, especially the darkness of it. The acting is superb!

This is a unique, imaginative movie about a Job-like character who sets out to break the 10 C's as revenge against God. But I think people of any religious persuasion (or none) can enjoy it. If you can appreciate a dark comedy, you'll love this movie.

After a string of otherwise-inexplicable disasters (the loss of his wife, his job, and his house), Seth becomes convinced that, for some reason, God is out to get him. Since prayer doesn't help him--on the contrary--Seth decides to break every one of the Ten Commandments. That puts him on a strange path, where he reencounters his sister-in-law, who's stuck in a miserable marriage; and literally faces death. The end is strange, unexpected and quite beautiful.